I Dream Of Baja
There have been very few times in my life when I’ve forgetten about eating. I’m usually the person who’s dreaming about lunch right after she finishes eating breakfast, who never skips a meal unless she’s extremely ill. And ironically, it recently happened to me in Ensenada, land of seafood and wine, and one of Mexico’s most incredible places to eat. But before you judge me, let me explain myself.
It was the second day of our family holiday in Ensenada, and the town had already welcomed us with a fabulous first day of food (incomparable Puerto Nuevo lobster tacos, made with gigantic flour tortillas, as seen on the photo above). Our goal for the day was to go chase some humpback whales, after being warned by the captain that our chances of seeing them were slim, since they were only passing by. Seeing a whale in the wild has been a lifelong dream of mine, so not getting my hopes up was hard. And so, armed with a few bags of chips and beers, we set out to sea.
The first couple of hours were a perfect journey across shades of blue. The sea was calm, the sky was clear, and except for a questionable playlist (so much EDM!), courtesy of our boat crew, the trip was so pleasant that we realized it didn’t really matter if we didn’t see any whales –spending the day at sea was enough.
After coming to terms with the fact that all we were going to get was the glimpse of a humpback’s hump, we started to turn back. But suddenly, we were joined by a bunch of white-sided dolphins, who happily swam right by the boat. A couple of them even showed off for us, doing a few jumps and flips. As they swam away, we declared our boating outing to be one of the most peaceful days we’d had all year, and felt ready to head back to dry land and feast on the legendary tostadas of La Guerrerense, topped with the most impossibly fresh seafood. Turns out, there was still a surprise in store.
As the sun started to set, following a path of fluffy clouds to the horizon, it bathed everything in the warmest light. I’ve always been in love with West Coast sunsets, but this has been, by far, the most spectacular one I’ve ever witnessed. If you need further proof, here’s a photo. Now, do you understand why I forgot I hadn’t eaten anything in almost seven hours?
By the time we got to land, it was already pitch dark, even though it was only 6pm, and we were officially starving. However, it was too late for us to hit La Guerrerense, so we opted for Boules instead, a lovely, casual eatery I’d been to the year before. The team was nice enough to accommodate our group of 15, and I dare say that my corner of the table made the best ordering decisions: we shared a mushroom pita pizza, queso fundido with chistorra, and the star of the night: fried fish jaws, super-flavorful and taco-ready, served with avocado slices, purple onions, and fresh tomatoes. After that flawless trifecta of starters, I had an artichoke risotto, truly one of the best I’ve ever tasted (and I have pretty high standards when it comes to risotto).
I went to bed that night exhausted and a little stuffed –one of the best feelings to go to bed to, if you ask me. Dinner hadn’t been great just because of the food, but because it had been the crowning moment to a perfect Ensenada day. And that’s going to make it impossible to forget.
*all photos by the author
Thanks for reading,
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